Smelling
Our senses of taste and smell give us great pleasure. Taste helps us enjoy food and beverages. Smell lets us enjoy the scents and fragrances like roses or coffee. Taste and smell also protect us, letting us know when food has gone bad or when there is a gas leak. They make us want to eat, ensuring we get the nutrition we need.
People with taste disorders may taste things that aren't there, may not be able to tell the difference in tastes, or can't taste at all. People with smell disorders may lose their sense of smell, or things may smell different. A smell they once enjoyed may now smell bad to them.
Many illnesses and injuries can cause taste and smell disorders, including colds and head injuries. Some drugs can also affect taste and smell. Most people lose some ability to taste and smell as they get older. Treatment varies, depending on the problem and its cause.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Felter's Materia Medica on Smelling
The whole plant of Agrimonia Eupatoria, Linné (Nat. Ord. Rosaceae). A common perennial in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Dose, 5 to... / ...g from kidneys and hips to the umbilicus; atony or irritation of the urinary tract, with muddy, ill-smelling urine. Action and Therapy.A mild tonic and astringent, indicated as abovementioned, and o... / ...it to give relief in abdominal pain due to faulty intestinal digestion. Dribbling of urine in old persons is said to be relieved by agrimony. 1
The leaves of Eucalyptus Globulus, Labillardiere. Collected from the older parts of the tree. (Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae.) A native tree of Australia;... / ... weight in the intestines; chronic mucous or muco-purulent discharges; pus in the urine; pasty, bad-smelling tongue; fetid excretions; fetid sore throat; fetid catarrhal states of the broncho-pulmonar... / ...Used according to indications as given above, eucalyptus is a very satisfactory and pleasant medicine. It is best given in syrup or glycerin.1
The flowers of Lavandula vera, De Candolle (Nat. Ord. Labiatae). Dry sterile soils of mountainous elevations in southern Europe and northern... / ...nd in fevers. The compound tincture is frequently added to carbonate of ammonium, and constitutes smelling salts for the relief of headache and tendency to fainting. Internal. Oil of lavender, the... / ...the compound tincture in nervous irritability in children, and incorporated it in a soothing syrup described under Cypripedium, which see.1
The denuded and dried rhizome and roots of Rheum officinale, Baillon; Rheum palmatum, Linné, and var. tanguticum, Maximowicz, and probably other... / ... with marked nervousness and restlessness, and screaming and convulsive muscular contractions. Sour-smelling discharges are relieved by small doses of neutralizing cordial or glyconda, while larger do... / ...of dyspeptics, with hepatic torpor, it may be given with podophyllin or aloes; and in ordinary constipation it is sometimes effective i1
The ripe seeds of Brassica nigra (Linné), Koch (Nat. Ord. Cruciferae). Asia and southern Europe; cultivated. Dose (emetic), 1 to 3... / ... a very pungent and irrespirable odor and an acrid taste. The greatest caution should be taken when smelling this liquid; and it should not be tasted except when greatly diluted. Dose, 1/12 to 1/4 dro... / ...mustard internally is to cause emesis in cases of narcotic poisoning. Besides acting as a prompt emetic, there is the added value of reflex st1